Matzo Ball Soup

When Passover rolls around, you can count on your neighborhood food blogger clan to have a Matzo Ball Soup dish ready for the holiday.

You might be shocked to hear that our family has a long history with matzo ball soup, even though we aren’t the first food blog that comes to mind when someone asks for a matzo ball soup recipe.

The stock is just as important as the matzo ball mixture when it comes to making a delicious matzo ball soup. For this soup, I like to create stock from a roasted chicken carcass, though there are many excellent stock recipes.

In what way do you like your matzo balls? That type who enjoys floating on airy clouds? Or heavy, chewy fish traps?

This matzo ball recipe can be adapted to your taste.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 large eggs
• 4 ribs celery, diced
• 3 medium carrots, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup of matzo meal
• ¼ cup of vegetable oil or rendered chicken fat
• ¼ cup of chicken stock/vegetable stock/water/seltzer
• ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
• ¼-½ teaspoon of baking powder
• Salt and pepper
• Dill sprigs
• Shredded chicken

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Combine the matzo meal, vegetable oil, stock, eggs, and nutmeg in a medium to large mixing basin. If you want fluffy matzo balls, add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder at this point; if you prefer them on the dense side, skip this step.
2. Add a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper to taste.
3. Use a fork to gently combine all the ingredients; don’t overwork the mixture. Wrap the concoction and chill it for at least three hours, preferably overnight.
4. Put the diced celery, carrot, and onion into a soup pot with the chicken/vegetable stock. Achieve a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
5. Keep simmering for 30–40 minutes or until the veggies are fork-tender.
6. In the meantime, get the water or stock boiling in a deep, wide skillet. Form balls of the chilled matzo mixture, roughly the size of ping pong balls, using wet palms. As you’re making them, toss them into the boiling liquid.
7. Cook them at a low boil, covered, for 30 to 45 minutes. As cooking time increases, the color of the finished product will become paler. In order to have matzo balls with a more al dente texture, I normally cook them for around 35 minutes.
8. Your matzo ball soup should be ready when the matzo balls are done cooking.
9. Add salt to taste after tasting the soup. Put some matzo balls into dishes and top them with soup. Shredded chicken and fresh dill are optional additions.
10. Start serving right away!